ChapterÂ 2.Â
Easy streaming

Intro

The easier way to start streaming with VLC is by using one of
the graphical user interfaces: wxwindows for Windows and GNU/Linux,
the skinnable Windows and GNU/Linux interface or the MacOS X native
interface.

Streaming using the Wizard

The Streaming/Transcoding Wizard leads you
step by step through the process of streaming your media on a network or
saving it to your hard drive. This Wizard offers
easy to use menus but provides a restricted set of options.

Note

The wizard is only available on the wxWindows
interface.

Launching the wizard

To launch the Streaming/Transcoding Wizard,
open the "File" menu, and select the Wizard menu item.

Input selection

Select a stream (such as a file, a network stream, a disk, a
capture device ...) by selecting the Choose...
dialog or an existing item in your playlist, using the Existing playlist item option.

Partial Extract: To read only part of the
stream, check the "Enable" checkbox and choose a start and end date (in
seconds). This option should only be used with streams you can control
such as files or discs but not network streams or capture devices.

UDP Multicast: Stream to multiple
computers using multicast. Enter the IP address of the multicast group
(in the 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255 range).

HTTP: Stream by using the HTTP
protocol. If you leave the Destination text box
empty, VLC will listen on all the network interfaces of the server on
port 8080. Specify an address, port and path on which to listen using
the following syntax [ip][:port][/path].

For instance, 192.168.0.1:80/stream
will make VLC listen on the interface carrying the 192.168.0.1
IP address, on the 80 TCP port, in the /stream virtual
file.

Transcoding options

Encapsulation method

Choose the method format. The UDP streaming methods require MPEG
TS encapsulation. The HTTP streaming method can be used with the MPEG
PS, MPEG TS, MPEG 1, OGG, RAW or ASF encapsulation. Saving to a file can
be done using any encapsulation format compatible with the chosen codecs.

Streaming options

If you chose to Stream to network you can
now specify several options.

Time To Live (TTL) This sets the
numbers of routers your stream can go through, for UDP unicast and
unicast access methods. If you do not know what this means, you should
leave the default value.

Note

With UDP multicast, the default TTL is set to 1, meaning
that your stream won't get accross any router. You may want to increase
it if you want to route your multicast stream.

SAP Announce To advertise your
stream over the network when using the UDP streaming method, using
the SAP protocol, enter the name of the stream in the text input and
check the checkbox. This is NOT available for the HTTP streaming
method.

Save to file destination

You can now select the Finish button to start streaming/converting the source.

Streaming using the GUI

Introduction

A second way to set up a streaming instance using VLC
is using Stream Output panel in the
Open... dialog of the wxWindows (Windows / GNU
Linux), skinnable (Windows / GNU Linux) and MacOS X interfaces.
Streaming methods and options used 99% of time should be available in
this panel.

To stream the opened media, check the "Stream output" checkbox in
the "Open File/Disc/Network Stream/Capture Device" dialog and click on
the "Settings" button.

The Stream Output dialog

Stream Output MRL

On the wxWindows interface, a text box displays the
Stream Output MRL (Media Ressource Locator). This
is updated as you change options in the Stream output dialog. For more
information on how to edit the Stream Output MRL
read
Advanced streaming using the command line.

Output methods

Play localy: display the stream on your screen. This allows to display the stream you are actually streaming. Effects of transcoding, rescaling, etc... can be monitored locally using this function.

File: Save the stream to a
file. The Dump raw input option allows to
save the input stream as it read by VLC, without any processing.

HTTP: Use the HTTP streaming method. Specify the IP address and TCP port number on which to listen.

MMSH: This access method allows to stream to Microsoft Windows Media Player. Specify the IP address and TCP port number on which to listen.

Note

This will only work with the ASF
enacpsulation method.

UDP: Stream in unicast by providing an address in the 0.0.0.0 - 223.255.255.255 range or in multicast by providing an address in the 224.0.0.0 - 239.255.255.255 range. It is also possible to stream to IPv6 addresses.

Note

This will only work with the TS
encapsulation method.

RTP: Use the Real-Time Transfer Protocol. Like UDP, it can use both unicast and multicast addresses.

Encapsulation method

Transcoding options

Enable video transcoding by checking the "Video Codec" checkbox. Choose a codec from the list. You can also specify an average bitrate and scale the input. (See
Streaming, Muxers and Codecs)

Enable audio transcoding by checking the "Audio Codec" checkbox. Choose a codec from the list. You can also specify an average bitrate and the number of audio channels to encode. (See
Streaming, Muxers and Codecs)

Miscellaneous options

Select methods to announce your stream. You can use SAP (Service
Announce Protocol) or SLP (Service Location Protocol). You must also
specify a channel name. The Mac OS X interface also allows you to export
the description (SDP) file of a RTP session using the internal HTTP or
RTSP server of VLC, or as a file. This can be done using the according
checkboxes. The SDP URL text box allows to give the
url or destination where the SDP file will be available.